Dealing with homesickness in Mexico

Being an expat in Mexico can turn out to be a wonderful human, social or professional adventure... with potential moments of nostalgia and homesickness along the way.

What are your personal tips to prevent homesickness?

How do you deal with such feelings?

Are there shops or stores offering products from your home country in Mexico? Or maybe venues with music and ambiance from your homeland?

Thanks for sharing your experience,

Priscilla

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alcuban

New member

Member since 10 October 2012

San Miguel de Allende

alcuban

16 September 2016 17:51:06

2 posts

alcuban

16 September 2016 17:51:06

#2

2 posts

San Miguel de Allende

I don't know where you came from or where you live in Mexico but whatever those may be, homesickness is a natural feeling when you move to another country. If you've recently retired, you'll miss the work routine (even if you didn't like your job, it was a routine that organized your life), particularly when you wake up one morning and discover you have nothing to do and you have to invent your own routines.

If you live in a gringo-gulch like San Miguel de Allende, it's not hard to connect with other expats through churches, volunteer organizations or clubs, and that will help you with the transition.

But ultimately the way to get over the initial homesickness is to try to wean yourself from your previous life and maintain an open mind to the new ways of doing things in your new country instead of locking yourself in an expat, English-speaking bubble which defeats the purpose of moving to a foreign country in the first place. Immersion rather than isolation is what will help adapt to the new environment.

al

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4

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Yassine Bena

Member

Member since 22 May 2016

Puebla

Yassine Bena

19 September 2016 12:28:00

3 posts

Yassine Bena

19 September 2016 12:28:00

#3

3 posts

Puebla

Mexico os really a beautiful country. The peaple is really really simple and with a big Heart. I m feeling happy and "trankilo" here.

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2

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giosiempre

Member

Member since 29 May 2012

nuevo laredo

giosiempre

19 September 2016 14:55:30

1 post

giosiempre

19 September 2016 14:55:30

#4

1 post

nuevo laredo

I never get home sickness as I have no family every weekend I travel to Monterrey.walking in this beautiful town really makes me apreciate life any one who wants to communicate with me look me up on Face Book under americano soltero viajero and send me a message blessings

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Mreid51

Active member

Member since 21 May 2013

.Rosarito Beach

Mreid51

19 September 2016 19:15:26

41 posts

Mreid51

19 September 2016 19:15:26

#5

41 posts

.Rosarito Beach

I get homesick for Mexico when I visit family in the U.S. Been living in Mexico fulltime for two+ years and have not really felt homesick for the U.S.

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1

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sparksmex

Serial expat

Member since 07 April 2012

Melaque, Jalisco

sparksmex

19 September 2016 21:33:23

219 posts

sparksmex

19 September 2016 21:33:23

#6

219 posts

Melaque, Jalisco

Eat another street taco

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anne stromberg

Contributor

Member since 29 October 2014

Playas

anne stromberg

20 September 2016 02:24:32

138 posts

anne stromberg

20 September 2016 02:24:32

#7

138 posts

Playas

If someone is prone to homesickness, I wonder why becoming an expat is even under consideration.

Sorry. I just find this a bit odd. Being an expat means going for something new, different and 'hopefully exciting. It is a great adventure,

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mexicomariana

New member

Member since 05 October 2015

Ahuatenco

mexicomariana

20 September 2016 19:29:33

6 posts

mexicomariana

20 September 2016 19:29:33

#8

6 posts

Ahuatenco

Hi Priscilla,I live back in the States in Atlanta, GA, but I lived in Cuernavaca for 8 years and still have a house in a village near there.When my husband and I lived there we joined the Newcomers Club and met many Americans and Canadians. We became friends with lots of people and heard lectures by Mexicans and people from other countries about what to do, where to eat, where to travel, etc. We learned an awful lot that way about living in Mexico and getting around easily, while being able to talk with our fellow countrymen and women. It was perfect!Mariana

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2

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buffetone

Member

Member since 06 September 2016

buffetone

27 September 2016 02:16:05

1 post

buffetone

27 September 2016 02:16:05

#9

1 post

May I ask why you moved back? We originally are from the N Atlanta area, live in Clearwater Fl. now. Are going to MX in a couple of weeks to look at small hotels/resorts to give us an idea if we would like to purchase when we retire there in a few years. We will look at properties from Cancun to the Belize border. We have been there several times in the past with our kids and we loved it then. Are there any problems, issues with co-existing with everyone I should know about?

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nikolas4squid

Contributor

Member since 08 November 2015

Winston-Salem

nikolas4squid

03 October 2016 15:47:12

134 posts

nikolas4squid

03 October 2016 15:47:12

#10

134 posts

Winston-Salem

Getting homesick does not mean one lacks the spirit of adventure to be an expat. Homesickness is a natural response to having a memory. As long as it is not a debilitating level of homesickness, then it is no big deal. Such bouts come and go. I grew up in Los Angeles, and when I was 26 I left, never to return (to live). There are times when I miss this or that, the smell of the chaparral after a rain, for example, or a this or that restaurant, and such bouts give me a brief moment of homesickness, but not of the sort that makes me want to move back. I lived in Japan for 18 years and for that period of time I missed having decent Mexican. . . or Chinese. . . . or Thai food. I missed those things. I missed my mother and cousins too, but those are bouts that you could have anywhere. I mean I lived in New Jersey for a couple of years too and missed exactly the same things (well, save for the Chinese food - they did have good Chinese food if you knew where to go). lol

Bouts of homesickness are just bumps in the road. And when they hit, I have always just gotten back out of the fog by getting into the things in my new life that I enjoy. And, in the case of food, trying to make a suitable substitute on my own. For family and friends? Skype/FaceTime. Much easier these days.

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